Safety-gate for bridges



(No Model.) I

H.J.ROHLF. SAFETY GATE FOR-BRIDGES.

No. 486,738. PatentedNov. 22', 1892.

UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY JOHN ROHLF, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY-GATE FOR BRI DG ES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 486,738, datedNovember 22, 1892.

Application filed August 29, 1892. Serial No. 444.385. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J OHN ROHLF, a resident of Chicago, in thecounty of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Safety- Gates for Bridges, of which thefollowing, when taken in connection with the drawings accompanying andforming a part hereof, is a full and complete description, sufficient'toenable those skilled in the art to understand and make the same.

My invention relates to the construction of a safety-gate especiallyadapted to be used in connection with swinging drawbridges, althoughitis to be distinctly understood that my safety-gate can be used forhighways, roads, and streets, at the crossing thereof of railroadtracks.

The purpose of my invention is to obtain a safety-gate which when closedwill form a part of the roadway designed to be closed by the raising ofthe gate; to obtain a gate whereof one-half only of the roadway need beclosed at once on opposite sides of the drawbridge or railroad-trackthatis to say, a gate whereof the portion covering the approach to thedrawbridge or railroad-track on both sides of such drawbridge orrailroadtrack can be closed-preventing the driving of vehicles fromeither side onto the drawbridge or railroad-track, while the half of thesafety-gate obstructing when raised the other half of the roadway, orthe side thereof on which vehicles are driven from the drawbridge orrailroad-track, is left open, so that when the safety-gate has beenraised against the approach of vehicles from either side to thedrawbridge or railroad-track such vehicles candrive off from suchdrawbridge or railroad-track before the remainder of the gate is closed,and the drawbridge or railroadtrack thereby put in position to be usedfor the passage of vessels or trains. V

A further object of my invention is to obtain a safety-gate fordrawbridges or railroadtracks which can be readily operated by a personstanding on the drawbridge or railroad-track, that will be simple inconstruction, and durable in operation.

A further object is to obtain safety-gates of the kind named which willin the operation thereof automatically sound a bell or gong.

In the drawings named as accompanying and forminga part of thisspecification I have illustrated my safety-gates as being erected acrossa highway, road, or street at the two approaches of a swingingdrawbridge.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a closed drawbridge with thegatesin position at the approaches thereof,so that vehicles can passover them onto and off from the drawbridge, and with the mechanismnecessaryin and about the operation of the gates indicated by brokenlines, such mechanism being underneath the bridge; Fig. 2, a sideelevation of the bridge with the supporting central pier and with thegates at the approaches thereof in the same position as in Fig. 1; Fig.3, a front elevation of the gates at one end of the bridge, viewed online 3 3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrow;Fig. 4, a front elevation of the gates at the other end of the bridge,viewed on line 4 4 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction indicated bythe arrows; and Fig. 5, an elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a portionof the mechanism whereby the automatic striking of the hell or gong inthe raising or lowering of the gates is attained.

The same letter of reference is used to in dicate a given part wheremore than one view thereof is shown in the several figures of thedrawings.

X is the pier of the bridge, and Z is the bridge.

A A are the gates at one end of the bridge,

and A A are the gates at the other end of the bridge. All these gatesare placed between the end of the bridge and the end of the approachesthereto, and a vertical movement is provided for in such gates to permitof their being raised to close the roadway of the approaches whendesired. Gate A in its upward. and downward movement is guided andcontrolled by the ends thereof moving in grooved guides in posts B B,respectively, and gate A" in its upward and downward movement is guidedand controlled by the ends thereof moving in grooved guides in posts B BPost B, it will be observed, extends above the roadway in the samemanner as do posts B B This extension of post B above the roadway is notessential, except where the roadway is of considerable width.

Where the roadway is not so wide as to require post B to extend abovethe ground, the

construction illustrated at the other end ofv adjacent end of gate Awhile the outside end' of gate A moves verticallyiu grooves in post BThegroove in each of the several posts B B B B B is lettered C, and thegroove and tongue of the adjacent ends of gates A A are lettered C.

D D are pulleys in posts B B B B B B respectively, over which pulleysthe chain, cord, cable, or rope 61 extends, one end of such chain, cord,cable, or rope being secured to the gate counterbalanced thereby and theother end to weight 01'. Two of these weights are attached to each gateand are made of suitable size to counterbalance such gate, so that itwill remain either raised or lowered where placed.

When the roadway and bridge are to be used for the passage of vehicles,the gates are down.

To raise the gates I provide the following described mechanism: Back ofeach of the respective gates is placed arack E, with which rack-gear c,secured rigidly on a shaft extending through a groove in the gate fromthe front thereof, inter-meshes. The groove in each one of the severalgates through which the shaft on which gear e is rigidly secured extendsis lettered e and the shafts are lettered, respectively, F F F F. Eachone of the shafts F F F F is rotatably journaled in bearings F F F. Onthe drawbridge there are placed the shafts G G,journaled in bearings GG, respectively, in such manner as that both a rotary movement may begiven thereto and a longitudinal movement.

g g are clutch-wheels on the respective shafts G G, clutch-wheel g beingadapted to be engaged with clutch-wheelfon shaft F or to be disengagedtherefrom by longitudinal movement of shaft G in its journal-bearings G,and clutch-wheel g being adapted to be engaged with or disengaged fromclutch-wheel f on shaft F by longitudinal movement of shaft G in itsjournal-bearings. Clutch-wheel fis or may be identical in constructionwith clutch-wheel f, and clutch-wheel 9 may be identical in constructionwith clutch-wheel g, the difference in lettering of such clutchwheelsbeing adopted for convenience in hereinafter describing the operation ofthe machine; and the particular clutch-wheels illustrated in thedrawings form no part of this invention, as other clutch-wheels ofsuitable form or shape may be substituted for the ones illustrated inthe drawings.

q is a gear-wheel, secured rigidly on shaft G, of sufficient depth toallow the longitudinal movement required in shaft G without the teeth ofsuch wheel 9 becoming out of engagement with gear-wheel hon shafts H Hrespectively. Shafts H H are respectively rotatably journaled inbearings H H.

h is a beveled gear at one end of shaft H engaging with beveled gear 2"on one end of shaft I. Shafts I I are respectively rotatably journaledin bearings I 1'.

t isa beveled gear at one end of shaft 1, intermeshing with beveled gear71 on shafts H H, respectively.

h h are beveled gears on shafts H H, respectively.

J is a vertical shaft rotatably journaled in bearing or standard J, andj is a crank on the upper end of shaft J, by which it may be rotated.

j is a beveled gear on the lower end of shaft J, intermeshing withbeveled gears 71 h on shafts H H. By the several shafts H H, H I, and J,with the respective intermeshing gear-wheels thereon, as described, whenthe vertical shaft J is rotated by crank j or by other means,clutch-wheels g g g g will be rotated.

To raise the gate on one side of the roadway at one end of the bridge Zand on the other side of the roadway at the other end of the bridge, theshafts G G, whereon are respectively placed the clutch-wheels g g, mustbe moved longitudinally in the bearings thereof, so that suchclutch-wheels will come in contact with clutch-wheels f f at oppositeends of the bridge on shafts F F, respectively, and to operate the gateson the remaining sides of the roadway at both ends of the bridge theshafts having thereon the clutchwheels g g, respectively, must be movedlongitudinally in their respective bearings, so as not to be intermeshedor in engagement with olutch-wheelsff, and the shafts G G, havingthereon the respective clutch-wheels g 9', must be moved longitudinallyin their respective journal-bearings G G,s'o as to come in engagement orclutch with clutch-wheels f'f on the respective shafts F F. To swing thebridge it. is necessary that none of the clutch-wheels g g be in contactwith any of the clutch-wheels ff, respectively.

To move the shafts G G longitudinally, as above required, I provide thefollowing mechanism: Lever K is fulcrumed to the bridge on pivot It, sothat such lever can be actuated by a person standing on the bridge, andto the lower end of such lever K are secured the longitudinally-movablerods L L. One of the rods Lextends to one end of lever M, and is securedthereto by pivot m while the other of such rods extends to lever M, toone end of which it is secured by alike pivot m Lever M is fulcrumed tothe bridge on pivot m, while lever M is fulcrumed to the bridge on pivotm. The other end of lever M has secured thereto by pivot m link N, whichlink extends to lever 0, and is attached thereto by pin 12. Lever O isfulcrumed to the bridge on pivot 0 Lever 0 extends from one of theshafts G at one end of the bridge to the other of the shafts G on suchend of the bridge, and is attached to such-shafts G G, so that a par-.tial turning of such lever 0 will produce longitudinal movement in bothof such shafts, one thereof being moved forward and the otherbackward,'so that both clutch-wheels g g may be freed from engagementwith wheels f f, respectively, or clutch-wheel 9 may be brought inengagement with clutch-wheel f, while clutch-wheel g is brought fartheraway from engagement with clutch-wheelf, or viceversa, as desired. Tomove the shafts G G at the other end of the bridge at the same time bythe movement of the lever K lever M is connected to link N, such link Nbeing secured to lever O by pivot n, and lever O is fulcrumed to thebridge on pivot 0 with the ends of this lever 0 extending to andconnected with the respective shafts G Gin like manner as lever O at theother end of the bridge extends to and connects with shafts G G at suchend.

When lever K is in a vertical position, as illustrated in Fig. 2, all ofthe clutch-wheels g g g g are freed from engagement with clutch-wheelsffff on shafts F FF F,and the bridge may be turned. Before turning thebridge, however, the gates should be raised.

The operation of raising the gates is as follows: Assuming that teamsorvehicles meeting each other pass to the right, as is ordina-. rily done,then the upper half of the bridge in Fig. l, as such figure is held tobe viewed, will be designed for travel extending from the right-h andend thereof (as viewed) toward the left-hand end thereof across thebridge and the lower half of such drawbridge will be designed for travelextending in the opposite direction. In such case when the bridge is tobe opened it will -be found desirable to raise the gates A A first, sothat the travelmay be intercepted from going onto the bridge but allowedto pass out or off therefrom over the gates A A respectively. After allthe vehicles on the bridge have passed therefrom the remaining gates A Aare then closed.

To close the gates A A the upper end of the lever K should be throwntoward the left, Fig. 2-that is, toward gate A-thereby forcing rods L Lto the right, and thus partially turning levers M M, respectively, andmoving links N N longitudinally to the left, thus turning levers O 0,respectively, a slight distance around on the fulcrums O 0 there: of,respectively, in the direction in which the hands of a clock move, thusmoving the shafts G G G Gon which are clutch-wheels g g gg,respectively, longitudinally in their journalbearings, so that theclutch-wheels g to the lower left'hand and the upper right hand of Fig.1 will engage with the adjacent clutchwheels f f while clutch-wheels g gat the upper left hand and lower right hand of Fig.

1 will be retracted from the adjacent clutchwheels f f. When the severalclutch-wheels are in the last-described position, the turning of theshaft J either by crank-armj or by any other suitable power will turnthe several connecting-shafts H H, I I, H H G G G G, and F F andgates AA will be raised. Lever K is then thrown to the extreme righthand one ofits possible positions and thereby the clutch-wheels g g are thrown intocontact with the adjacent clutch-wheels ff. Turning of the shaft J willthen raise into po- .sition the gates A A The lever K is then againreturned to a vertical position, thereby releasing all the severalclutch-wheelsg g g g from the adjacent clutch-wheels ffff and the bridgecan be opened. When the bridge is closed, the operation is repeated inorder to close the several gates, the shaft J being turned into theopposite direction.

To give an alarm as the several gates or any one thereof is moved up ordown in the guides therefor, the shaft on which is rigidly securedpulley D is extended to one side of the post in which it is rotatablymounted, and toothed wheel P is rigidly secured thereto and lever P,having at the upper end thereof hammer P is mounted on such post withspring 19 tending to hold such lever .against such toothed wheel.Rotation of the wheel P will produce a vibratory movement in lever P,causing hammer P to strike against and sound gong or bell Q.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is- 1 1. In a safety -gate, the combination ofa two-partvertically movable gate located at each approach of adrawbridge or railroadcrossing, a vertical rack on each part of thegate, a slotted opening through each part of the gate, a rotatable shaftextending through the slotted opening, a gear-wheel at one end of theshaft, intermeshing with the rack on the gates and a clutchwheel at theother end thereof, longitudinally movable rotatable shafts havingclutch-wheels thereon adjacent to the first-named clutch-wheels, a leverabove the floor of the bridge, and connecting mechanismfwhereby suchclutch-wheels can alter nately be thrown into and out of engagement bylongitudinal movement of the longitudinally movable rotatable shafts, arotatable vertical shaft extending above the level of the highway, androtatable shafts having in termeshing gearwheels thereon connecting thevertical shaft with the longitudinallymovable rotatable shafts, wherebyrotation of the vertical shaft will produce rotation of suchlongitudinally-movable shafts, substantially as described.

2. In a safety-gate, the combination of a two-part verticallymovablegate located at each approach of a drawbridge or railroadcrossing, avertical rack on each part of the gate, a slotted opening through eachpart of the gate, a rotatable shaft extending through the slottedopening, a gear-wheel at one end of the shaft, intermeshing with therack on they gates and'a clutch-Wheel at the other end thereof,longitudinallymovable rotatable shafts having clutch-Wheels thereonadjacent to the first-named clutch-Wheels, a lever above the level ofthe roadway and connecting mechanism whereby such clutch-wheels canalternately be throwninto and out of engagement by longitudinal movementof the longitudinally-movable rotatable shafts, a rotatable verticalshaft extending above the level of the highway, and rotatable shaftshaving intermeshing gearwheels thereon connecting the vertical shaftwith the longitudinallymovable rotatable shafts, posts having rotatablepulleys in the upper part thereof, flexible connections extending overthe pulleys and attached at one end to the gates and at the other end tothe counter-weights, a toothed Wheel secured to the pulley-shaft androtated thereby, a spring-lever resting against the toothed wheel, abell-hammer on the springlever, and a bell, substantially as described.

3. In a safety gate, a vertically movable gate, a post having rotatablepulleys in the upper end thereof, a connection extending over thepulleys, one end whereof being attached to the gate and the other end toconnter-weights, in combination with a toothed Wheel rigidly secured tothe shaft on which one of the pulleys is rigidly secured, a spring leverresting against the toothed wheel, a bellhammer on one end of suchspring-lever, and a bell placed so that the hammer on the spring-leverwill strike it When such springlever is actuated by the movement ofthegate, substantially as described. HENRY JOHN ROHLF.

WVitnesses:

CHARLES TURNER BROWN, FLORA L. BROWN.

